Arashiyama Street Food, Rated by Japan's Bluntest Reviewer: “For Once, Everything Scored High”
嵐山の食べ歩きスイーツ、辛口チャンネルでまさかの全高評価——京都人の追い推しと本音つき
Japan's bluntest food-review channel walked Arashiyama's street-food strip — and, to its own viewers' surprise, liked everything: the reaction that summed it up (403 likes) is simply “Wow, high marks across the board for once.” One commenter offers the local logic: competition near the big sights is so brutal that only genuinely good shops survive. Then Kyoto locals started adding their own picks — a huge, cheap kinako dango at Koto Imo Honpo (1,107 likes), a mysterious warabi-mochi-like sweet at Enman Mochiten, gelato worth repeat trips at Shinpachi Chaya, and a tea-and-scone shop regulars call flat-out godly. The one warning comes from a Kyoto resident (129 likes): the area is packed, priced for tourists and gridlocked — plus a local tip on where the eating stays reliably good, just off the famous strip.
“Whoa — high marks across the board, for once.”
すごい、珍しく全体的に高評価
Scroll while you watch
What locals said (excerpted from 307)
- @pipipi_nemui👍 540
What I love about this channel is that it's honest both ways — it tells you which places aren't good, and which ones genuinely are.
毎回美味しくないところだけでなく、しっかり美味しいところも教えてくれるのがしっかり正直レビューで好き
- @加一-x6d👍 54
Maybe because competition at a big tourist spot is so fierce, only the genuinely good shops survive?
観光名所で競合が激しいから、本当に美味い店だけ残ってるんですかね
- @Ruin-v5l👍 1,107
Kyoto local here! I haven't tried the sencha flavor of Koto Imo Honpo's dango, but the regular one is huge, great value, and SO good — please try it!!
京都人女です！ 古都芋本舗のお団子、煎茶味は食べたことないんですが、ノーマルはほんとに大きくてコスパいいのにとっっってもおいしいので是非！！
- @mr.astronauts9785👍 9
There's a shop called Enman Mochiten that makes hineri-mochi — a mysterious sweet a bit like warabi-mochi — and it is seriously, ridiculously good. Every time I'm in Arashiyama I go eat it and buy some to take home.
〇〇餅店(えんまん餅店)というお店の火練り餅という、わらび餅にちょっと似た不思議なお餅がまじで本当にめちゃくちゃに美味しすぎて、嵐山行ったら必ず食べに行ってお土産も買っていきます。
- @しろ-x4f👍 63
I'm so happy they went to kiki!!! It's a tea-and-scone specialist and honestly a godly shop — one of my favorites. 😇
kikiに行ってくれるの嬉しすぎるんだけど！！！ 紅茶とスコーンの専門店でほんとに神のお店すぎるからお気に入りです😇
- @hokkuri_imokenpi👍 1
I really love the gelato at a shop called Shinpachi Chaya…! My favorite is the matcha one with azuki in it — I've gone back to Arashiyama just for that.
新八茶屋という店のジェラートが本当に好きで…！私は抹茶？小豆が入ってる味がお気に入りで、それのためだけに嵐山リピしました
- @シメ茄子👍 22
I fell in love with Kyo Baum on my middle-school trip and now buy it every time I'm in Kyoto. If you like your matcha on the slightly bitter side, it's a real recommendation.
中学のときの修学旅行で食べた京ばあむが好きすぎて京都行くたびに買ってる、ちょっと苦い寄りの抹茶が好きな人は本当におすすめ
- @user-oo2kk2ug1h👍 129
Se-ri-ous-ly! Kyoto right now is so flooded with tourists you can barely move. Everything is tourist-priced and expensive, the roads are jammed — I'd honestly recommend not coming during the Obon holidays. If there's anything you want to know about Kyoto, ask me anything. ✊ — from a Kyoto resident
ま！じ！で！今の京都は外国人で溢れて全然進めない 観光地価格で激高 道路渋滞してるからお盆休みは京都に来ないことおすすめします 何か京都で気になることあったらなんでも聞いてください✊ by京都市民より
Where locals go instead
- @moka25955👍 12
In Kyoto, shops that aren't aimed at tourists rarely miss. If you want to eat well, my advice is to look for places a little away from the famous tourist spots.
京都、観光客向けじゃない店は割とハズレないので、美味しいもの食べたければ観光地として有名なところから少し離れたあたりで店探すのがおすすめです
Places named in this article
- Koto Imo Honpo古都芋本舗Arashiyama
A Kyoto local's top add (1,107 likes): the plain kinako dango is huge, cheap and “so, so good.”
- Enman Mochitenえんまん餅店Arashiyama
Known for hineri-mochi, “a mysterious sweet a bit like warabi-mochi” — one commenter never visits Arashiyama without stopping here.
- Shinpachi Chaya新八茶屋Arashiyama
Gelato a commenter says they've made repeat Arashiyama trips just to eat — matcha-and-azuki is the pick.
- TEA ROOM KIKI (tea & scones)TEA ROOM KIKI 京都・嵐山本店Arashiyama (near Randen-Saga Sta.)
A tea-and-scone specialist a regular calls “a godly shop” (63 likes) — its main store, in a renovated 1921 post office.
- Kyo Baum京ばあむArashiyama
Matcha baumkuchen on the slightly bitter side — a commenter has bought it on every Kyoto trip since their school excursion.
Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is Arashiyama street food a tourist trap?
- Judging by this thread, no — and that's notable. The source is Japan's bluntest review channel, and the comment that summed up the episode (403 likes) was “high marks across the board, for once.” One local theory: competition around the big sights is so fierce that only genuinely good shops survive. The complaints here are about crowds and prices, not quality.
- What do locals recommend eating in Arashiyama?
- The comment-section adds, from locals: Koto Imo Honpo's oversized kinako dango (1,107 likes), Enman Mochiten's hineri-mochi, gelato at Shinpachi Chaya, tea and scones at TEA ROOM KIKI, and Kyo Baum's slightly bitter matcha baumkuchen.
- When should you avoid Arashiyama?
- A Kyoto resident (129 likes) is blunt, as of these comments: the area is overflowing with tourists, priced accordingly, and the roads are jammed — they specifically advise skipping the Obon holidays in mid-August. Another local tip from the thread: shops that aren't aimed at tourists rarely miss, so wander a little away from the famous strip.
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Read this roundupThis is one of 9 local roundups for Kyoto. See them all →
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